A CONVICTED child killer who went on to sexually abuse young girls is back behind bars following a two-year investigation by Barnsley detectives.
Michael Waters, 78, of Bridgwater in Somerset, was given a life sentence at Sheffield Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual offences, including attempted rape.
Detective Constable Andy Anstey who headed up the complex investigation, said: "Waters is an extremely dangerous individual who, since the age of 21, has committed inexplicably horrendous crimes, showing no remorse and going on to re-offend.
"Having already served 30-years behind bars previously, and now in his late 70s, I'm confident that Waters will spend the rest of his life in jail, which is undoubtedly where he belongs due to the danger he poses."
The result comes following a lengthy investigation which began in 2015 when one of Waters's victims, now an adult but a young girl from Barnsley when she was abused by him in the 1970s, came forward to report what had happened to her.
DC Anstey said: "The victim, who was under 14 at the time the abuse began, was terrified of Waters, who preyed on her innocent nature and took advantage of her, going on to sexually assault her at any opportunity he had.
"Waters had an allergy to oranges and the victim was so petrified of him that she carried an orange with her, which she would begin to peel in a bid to deter him every time he came near her.
"On one occasion the victim believes she would have been raped by Waters, had he not been disturbed as he abused her one evening, subjecting her to yet another horrifying ordeal."
As detectives interviewed witnesses and looked in to Waters's background, they discovered he had been convicted of murdering a nine-year-old girl in Liverpool in 1959. Waters served just ten years of his sentence before he was released, moving to the West Yorkshire area.
He was recalled to prison in the late 80s and released in 2015, when South Yorkshire Police began investigating and unearthed a catalogue of abuse.
DC Anstey said: "During our enquiries, a second victim, a young girl also under the age of 14 at the time of the abuse, came forward from the West Yorkshire area.
"This victim endured two years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of Waters, robbing her of years of her young life.
"Thankfully, down to evidence given by the two victims and countless witnesses we were able to charge Waters with one count of attempted rape and eight counts of indecent assaults on girls under the age of 14."
The inevestigation came about when a referral was made to South Yorkshire Police in 2015 after the victim disclosed that during the 1970s she was sexually abused over a number of years by Waters who was then living in West Yorkshire.
